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Visiting Cape Coast

Sooo apart from interning at Mawuvio, I was given the opportunity to travel with my cousin to see The Cape Coast slave castle. This was one of my favorite experiences in Ghana because I was able to come face-to-face with my history; a history that I have been interested since high school. I have heard allusions to the slave trade my entire life, but I really understood it after taking African-American history with a teacher named Ms. Barno. She taught me about the ship route, the exchange process, and the conditions that the slaves lived in. It was truly a privilege to be able to see the slave castles that I had learned about from my teacher and read about in textbooks. The tour guide that we had was phenomenal. She described the conditions of the dungeons so vividly, that I felt like I was a part of that era. The Portuguese ran this particular castle during the slave trade. It held many rooms that were used for various purposes. For example, the communications room, which regulated the arrival and departure of the slave ships. I also saw the Governor’s quarters, which was where the governor lived while he ran the entire castle. She showed us how hundreds of people were packed in a small room, and how food was passed through a small opening for all them. In many cases, people would die of starvation because they could not reach the food. The description she gave of some of the other rooms in the castle were completely horrific, so I will spare you the details. Despite the sadness that I felt while learning this history, it was really an experience that I will never forget.